Sweet Spot
by Safaia
Summary: Ariadne finds the perfect place to make Arthur relax.


**Sweet Spot**

Ariadne twirled her pencil from one finger to another. They were on a job and Arthur had called her in to design the dreams. She had seen him dozens of times since the Fischer job and all had been for work save one. Not even a week after the job and mere days after she returned to Paris she had found him waiting outside one of her classes. They had gone out and gotten coffee and Arthur had spent the rest of the afternoon making sure she was all right. She was, save for the occasional nightmare, and he seemed pleased to hear that. Then he asked if she would be willing to be his architect for future jobs. Ariadne did not have to think twice before she agreed and he pulled her out into the field when he needed levels built. Right now they were on a job for a brother trying to find out whether his sister was the one who had drained their trust fund and she was trying to focus on the maze she was supposed to be designing.

The couch she was on was comfortable and Ariadne had her legs bent up as she drew. Not even two feet away Arthur sat hunched over his laptop typing away. They were the first two who had arrived for the job and now they were waiting for the rest of their team. Arthur was busying himself with trying to do research on the mark and had hardly said two words to her since she had arrived. They were in a house for this job and Ariadne was not going argue working in a chair or a couch instead of a lawn chair. The comfort was working to her advantage right now because jet lag was beginning to catch up with her and sleeping on the couch was extremely tempting. She did not say anything though but she did yawn quite a few times.

"You should get some sleep if you're so tired," Arthur said without looking up.

"I'll be fine. It's been a few months since I last designed and I want to make sure I haven't gotten rusty," Ariadne replied and could not stop another yawn.

"You're not any use to anyone if you're exhausted though," Arthur said but his lecture was cut short when he yawned as well.

"Someone should follow their own advice," she said grinning.

"Someone should mind their own business," he said but there was no bite behind his words. From her position Ariadne thought she could see him smile. She moved so she was sitting next to him and his eyes flickered to her for only a moment.

"I think you need to take a break. When was the last time you relaxed anyway?" Ariadne asked and she poked him in the ribs with her pencil. Arthur made a small noise and moved away on reflex and she raised her eyebrows.

"I know how to relax and don't do that," Arthur replied.

"I don't think you do," she said and she poked him again. Once again he made that noise and now she was sure of it; Arthur was ticklish.

"Don't do that," he said again before he looked away from the laptop to meet her eyes. "And I do so know how to relax, just so you know."

"Oh I completely believe you, Arthur," Ariadne said mockingly as she set her sketchpad and pencil aside. "I also think I've found one of your weaknesses." She poked him in a rib again and this time he could not hide his smile or a chuckle. "That's what I thought." Before Ariadne could think about breaching a professional relationship or anything else she began to tickle Arthur fiendishly. She was delighted at the sound of the point man bursting into laughter and how he batted at her hands to try and get her to stop. She managed to tickle him to the point that he was on his back trying to fight her off.

"Ariadne, Ariadne please stop," Arthur tried to say and she tickled his ribs, neck and underarms relentlessly.

"This is the most I've ever seen you smile so I think not," Ariadne replied before two hands clasped her wrists and Arthur moved so fast that she did not have time to react. Before she could think twice Ariadne was flat on her back and suddenly Arthur was tickling her. She twisted as she laughed and tried to break free but he did not stop nor did he slow down. He was smiling down at her widely and there was a spark in his dark eyes that she had never seen before. They locked gazes when Arthur pinned her wrists down to the side and he stared. They were pressed close and she could feel the heat of his body against hers. He was breathing hard as he watched her carefully as if he was trying to plan something out in his head.

When Arthur leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips Ariadne was too shocked to react. Arthur used the words 'professional relationship' a lot so she in no way expected him to make a move like this. After the first job or so she had resigned herself to the fact that the kiss in the second level was a fluke and he was not interested. Arthur pulled away slowly and blinked a few times as if he was trying to focus.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly and he released her wrists. "I'm sorry, that was so inappropriate on so many different levels, I apologize." Arthur went to move away but Ariadne was not going to let that happen. She grabbed his jacket and pulled him back down into a kiss.

"I'm not sorry about that," she said against his lips before kissing him again. This time Arthur returned her kiss carefully, as if he was not sure what was happening, but Ariadne released his jacket and cupped his face kissing him hard enough to bruise. Arthur was kissing her back this time and it was electric when their tongues touched. A hand was on her thigh pulling her closer and Ariadne arched her back against him trying to connect their bodies at every possible point. Arthur's hand roamed up until he found the bare skin of her stomach and when his nails sunk into her skin Ariadne did not even try to contain her groan.

Then he was gone in a flash, so fast that she thought the entire thing had been a dream. Arthur had moved away from her a few paces and was sitting back on the couch and watching her. His eyes were wide, breathing ragged and he looked dumbstruck.

"This is a bad idea," he said though his voice was thick. Ariadne sat up on her elbows and narrowed her eyes.

"Why?" she asked because she really wanted to understand his logic.

"We work together and that-" Arthur cut himself off. "Things could get very complicated and you know that." Ariadne heard his words but she was not really listening. She moved and pushed the point man onto his back gently. She eased onto his hips and watched him swallow to the point that it looked like it hurt. Ariadne leaned forward so there were centimeters between their lips.

"That's a load of shit," she whispered and he jerked a bit at her words but he did not get far. "So shut up." She kissed him again and this time there was no hesitation. Arthur snaked his hands through her hair and Ariadne began to work on the buttons of his jacket. When she finally got the last of the buttons Arthur sat up so she could slip it off. Their kiss broke and Ariadne felt her breath hitch when Arthur began to kiss her neck. His hands moved up her side and she did not hesitate when he pulled her shirt off with one swift motion. They kissed again and her hands hit his as they both tried to work on the buttons of Arthur's shirt and Ariadne smiled beneath his lips when her fingers found bare skin. He was moving now, easing them off of the couch, until they were both on their feet. Arthur lifted her up and Ariadne wrapped her legs around his waist.

Ariadne was not sure when they made it to a bedroom but the next thing she remembered was being dropped on the bed and staring up at Arthur. His eyes were dark and his lips were swollen. It looked like he hesitated for a moment before he leaned down and they were kissing again. His precise fingers were working on the button on her jeans and Arthur's lips moved to her neck. Ariadne groaned at the feeling of him moving her jeans from her hips and putting a hand between her thighs. All pretense of making this slow and gentle were thrown out the door as Ariadne practically shoved Arthur's pants off.

"Fuck," Arthur swore and he moved away from her to dig into his bag. Ariadne grinned, partly because she had never heard Arthur swear like that and mostly from the groan he gave when she wrapped her hands around him, as he turned back to her a condom in hand. "Someone doesn't have patience," he teased as they discarded the last of their clothes and he rolled the condom onto his erection.

"Shut up," Ariadne replied and she groaned into his mouth when he pushed into her. Arthur was a gentleman so she was not surprised that he was gentle with her but the last thing she wanted was someone treating her like she was made of glass. She arched against him as he moved to try and say without words that she wanted more from him. They moved together, slowly at first, but before long Arthur dropped the chivalry act and they were moving at a hurried pace. Ariadne came first arching against Arthur and he follow suit not long after. They collapsed together on the bed breathing hard. There was some unspoken tension between them and Ariadne was not sure what she should do next. Arthur moved to throw the condom away and they laid together side by side in complete silence as if neither of them was sure what should be happening right then. Ariadne watched him out of the corner of her eye before poking him in the ribs again.

"Ariadne don't-" he cut himself off as he pulled her to him and their eyes met again. "Don't start that again." But he was smiling when he said it.

"I don't know about you but I like how that ended," she replied and poked him again. Arthur laughed and rolled them over so he was looking down at her. He kissed her again and Ariadne made a noise into his mouth when he poked her in the ribs. She laughed and they fought each other off as they tried to tickle one another. Ariadne smiled and was content to listen to Arthur's laughter for hours at a time, more than happy to see him smiling down at her and lose herself in the feeling of his arms around her body. She smiled and kissed him until she had to break away for a breath. The tickling had subsided but Arthur was still smiling, still had that glint in his eyes, and Ariadne could only smile back.


End file.
